"But, Brother Shiratori, how did he make sure it was Asama who went in?" Megure Juzo raised a question.
Shiratori Ninzaburo continued to speculate. "Perhaps there was a camera inside? No, if that's the case, the mechanism might not have been triggered automatically, but remotely controlled..."
Megure Juzo looked at Asama Anji again. "Did you notice anything unusual at that time?"
Asama Anji recalled. "I didn't notice anything unusual."
Megure Juzo nodded; the possibility of a trap was high. "Then what about after that? Did you feel anything after you passed out?"
Asama Anji said, "I woke up once midway. It was in a pitch-black space. I was tied up and gagged. I felt around and found it was a narrow space. Before I could remember what happened before, I fainted again. When I woke up again, I was here."
Megure Juzo couldn't help looking at Shiratori Ninzaburo. Could it be another mechanism?
Shiratori Ninzaburo thought for a moment. "Maybe he was in the delivery box at that time? I heard from the National Police Agency that July is very cautious. To prevent criminals from escaping, he takes some measures inside the delivery box..."
"But there didn't seem to be anything like that in the cardboard box received over there," Megure Juzo was puzzled, then asked Asama Anji again, "In other words, you never saw July's face, right?"
"Did... did that guy Kaetsu betray me?" Asama Anji suddenly asked. "He gave me the train ticket, and he told me to stay in the room and not move around. Did he sell me out to July?!"
Shiratori Ninzaburo looked at Megure Juzo. Seeing Megure nod, he said, "Mr. Kaetsu Toshinori has already been arrested in Hokkaido. He murdered his jewelry store manager, Mr. Izumo Keitaro. He originally intended to kill you and frame you, but according to him, when he went to your room to find you, you were no longer there."
"He wanted to kill me?!" Asama Anji clenched his fists, then relaxed them and frowned.
He still wanted to figure out how he got caught.
It seemed unlikely that Kaetsu Toshinori was in cahoots with that July.
Did the other party spot him on the train and set a trap to catch him?
He had heard that there was a formidable bounty hunter in Japan recently. Considering he might be targeted, he had paid a little attention.
But only a little.
He imagined that even if they met, there should be a vigorous battle or chase between him and the other party. Either he escaped, or he got caught.
He never expected to fall into a trap inexplicably without even seeing the other party's shadow...
Are bounty hunters this scary?
Seeing that Asama Anji didn't seem to know anything else, Megure Juzo said, "Then..."
"Officer," Asama Anji asked suddenly, "Am I a living delivery package?"
Megure Juzo was stunned, unable to react for a moment.
"I heard July delivers people to the National Police Agency as delivery packages. You mentioned a delivery box earlier; was I delivered like that too?" Asama Anji pressed. Being sold for money without even knowing how he was caught or sold was depressing. "At least let me know how I was sold, right?"
"Ahem, yes." Considering Asama Anji had been arrested and would likely spend the rest of his life in prison, Megure Juzo hesitated but eventually took out two photos taken as evidence and showed them to Asama Anji. "See if you can remember anything else?"
Two photos. One was before the box was opened, with a printed paper on top:
[Living Delivery Package. Careful with water and fire. Violent opening prohibited.]
The other was after the box was opened, showing Asama Anji unconscious inside with a printed paper stuck to his forehead:
[I am Asama Anji, wanted robber.]
Asama Anji stared for a moment, then withdrew his gaze. "How much did he sell me for?"
"This... I'm not sure either. It should be the price on the wanted poster," Megure Juzo felt the topic was drifting strangely and steered it back. "When you woke up midway, were you in this cardboard box?"
"No, not a cardboard box," Asama Anji recalled. "At that time, my hands were tied. I pressed against it; it was something very hard, either wood or a concrete slab."
Megure Juzo nodded and noted it down. "Is there anything else strange? For example, after you fainted, did you hear any special sounds or smell any special odors?"
"No..." Asama Anji suddenly looked up. "Right, sound!"
Megure Juzo was startled by Asama Anji's reaction but kept his composure. "What about it?"
"No footsteps!" Asama Anji stared straight at Megure Juzo, his gaze eerily intense. "I remember now. At that time, I was worried Mouri Kogoro would find me and chase me. After returning to the room and locking the door, I stood behind it listening to the sounds outside. There were no footsteps before or after the knock. There were no footsteps leaving after the note was slid in. But when I opened the door, there was no one outside!"
Megure Juzo suddenly felt the air conditioning in the interrogation room was a bit too strong; his back felt chilly. "Ahem, maybe the other party practiced techniques like silent walking..."
Shiratori Ninzaburo secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He was also startled by Asama Anji's ghost-seeing reaction just now. "Then July should have undergone training similar to special forces?"
Megure Juzo nodded. "It's possible..."
"No, that's not right!" Asama Anji tried hard to recall, his speech becoming rapid. "Silent walking moves very slowly. From the note sliding in to me opening the door, it was less than half a minute. It's impossible not to see anyone! No! It didn't feel like there was anyone outside at all. No footsteps, no breathing sound..."
Seeing Asama Anji's emotional instability, Megure Juzo shouted, "Asama! Calm down!"
"Officer," Asama Anji tried to explain the eerie feeling in his heart. "I thought about it carefully. It was also wrong when I woke up midway and fainted again. At that time, I only touched the floor and leaned against something like a wall. The camera couldn't see me. How did he know I woke up? Why did I faint again immediately? Something must have been watching me at that time!"
Shiratori Ninzaburo said, "It could be a camera equipped with infrared detection."
Asama Anji froze for a moment but insisted, "Officer, believe me! There must be something wrong somewhere. Let me think..."
"Then think carefully. Tell us if you remember anything." Megure Juzo comforted him and left the interrogation room.
Shiratori Ninzaburo followed him out. After the door closed, he whispered, "Inspector Megure, Asama seems mentally unstable."
Megure Juzo nodded. "Asama is a cunning and decisive person. He committed multiple robberies and was never caught. In the end, he was outsmarted without knowing anything. Maybe he just can't accept it for a while. We can't ask any more; further questioning won't yield any results."
National Police Agency.
After receiving the interrogation report, Kanemoto Noboru read through it once and sent it to the archives.
At that time, July must have been on the train, and he took Asama Anji off the train during the time it stopped after the incident occurred. This was certain.
Although there were many people on the train and it was hard to investigate now, it wasn't surprising that nothing could be found...
Anyway, seeing Asama Anji's clueless testimony gave him a headache. Let those interested deal with the headache. He might as well go downstairs to supervise the construction.
At the back door of the National Police Agency, a small flat-roofed shed had been built.
There was no main door. A table was placed at the entrance, and a standing cabinet was inside, leaving the rest of the space empty.
Kanemoto Noboru looked around, nodded in satisfaction, and didn't forget to take a photo to send to the email address left by July.
[Back door of the National Police Agency, Delivery Package Storage Point. See if there are any changes needed?]
Some of the things sent by July were dangerous. Sometimes guns were sent along inside. They were genuinely worried that passersby or thieves might open the box before they did and take out dangerous items or release the criminals.
With a sheltered space and a National Police Agency sign on the table at the entrance, even if no one was guarding it, no one would trespass, ensuring the safety of the delivery packages.
This was their consideration. They believed July wouldn't refuse, right?
Unfortunately, Chi Feichi, who was far away in Hokkaido, had already switched email addresses and didn't see this email.
Kanemoto Noboru waited for a while but received no reply, so he sent another email explaining.
[There are no cameras and no personnel on duty. It's just to prevent passersby from tampering with the delivery packages. Also, it ensures the cardboard boxes won't get wet when it rains.]
Waiting a while longer, still no reply.
Kanemoto Noboru sent another one: [The Metropolitan Police Department also built a temporary storage point next to their main gate. Some criminals can be sent directly to the MPD. I will contact you then.]
After waiting a bit more, he couldn't help sending another one: [If you don't reply, I'll take it as your agreement.]